


Stunner

by Ismaire



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:28:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21656767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ismaire/pseuds/Ismaire
Summary: In which Sylvain realizes over time that maybe, not every woman is so bad.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	1. Stunner

**Author's Note:**

> I’m stuck in FE3H hell, and additionally, DoroSyl hell.

The dull ache of rejection was something that Sylvain was all too used to by know, living up to his reputation as a flirt to a fault. Though even so, Sylvain was the type to simply cut his losses and try again on some other unsuspecting girl, and hell, he even tried his luck with girls that knew of his philandering ways, as sometimes they disregarded the infamy that surrounded the Gautier heir. He was persistent, but in a way, was respectful as well. He never tried to actually sleep around, as many may think he did. It was something that no one really knew about him, save for his childhood friend, Felix Hugo Fraldarius. 

Speaking of which, who he was sparring right now. Though that was mainly because Sylvain said he’d spar with him if he actually went out to dinner with him. 

Their weapons crashed and collided, the sound echoing throughout the training room that they were currently using. Sylvain used the lance, while Felix was fixated on the sword. Felix was much more quick than Sylvain, but Sylvain had more strength due to his height and weight over the other. 

“Another letter came for you,” Felix said in between swings, trying to keep Sylvain from being able to reasonably strike back at him. “Though I have no clue why the postman gave it to me, it clearly says Gautier on there.”

“Toss it,” he responded, using the body of his lance to defend a swing that Felix brought down on him, before using his strength to shove him backwards, thrusting forward and stepping into it. This caused Felix to nearly fall on his rear, but he caught himself quickly enough to land in a kneeled crouch. 

“Hmph, I figured you’d say that, so I took the liberty of opening it anyway,” he replied, using his speed to pin Sylvain with his techniques, with the lance-wielding boy having no choice but to take the defensive with his weapon. That hardly mattered once he felt comfortable with his stepping, however, as he backed up and thrust the point of his weapon out towards Felix, with him falling backwards on his ass. It gave Sylvain the advantage that he wanted, hovering over Felix with the tip of the spear pointed at his neck. 

“You know, it’s not nice to look through someone else’s mail,” Sylvain hummed out, keeping his chest pinned down to the ground with the butt of his lance, grinning. “I mean, yeah, I was going to throw it away anyway. But that’s still a letter that wasn’t addressed to you, and thus, you have no business with.”

During him speaking, Felix managed to get a good enough grip on his weapon to yank it away from his chest, angrily tossing it aside along with the next heir to House Gautier. Sylvain went with the spear, quickly thrown off balance and having to use the lance and his knees to ground himself and slide to a stop against the floor of the training grounds. Felix used the time he bought to stand up as tall and proudly as he could, before bringing his sword to a kneeled Gautier’s face. “Please, as if you care about marriage proposals that come your way. You’ve rejected every single one, yet you continue to philander with every girl you deem pretty here.”

Sylvain lets out a laugh at this, pulling himself up to use the butt of his weapon to push Felix away at a safer distance. “What can I say, my dear old friend,” he began, swinging his lance into proper form and thrusting it towards Felix, forgetting about his sword that was previously at his neck. “I’m just not ready to get married yet, but have all the time in the world for the babes here.”

Felix scoffed, blocking his blows with his sword and pushing them away from him with the blade. He does not respond, but he does lash out unexpectedly, breaking his defense before poking his chest with the tip of his blade when he saw the opening. “You’re a complete moron, and a time waster if that’s all you came to Garreg Mach for. Anyway, I beat you again.”

Sylvain simply laughed in agreement. “You got it, my good sir.”

That only made Felix glare harder at him than he usually did, sticking the sword deeper in his xiphoid process. “H-Hey, it’s just a practice sword but that hurts, Felix!”

He scoffed at this, but procured the mail that came for him from his vest. It was mostly crisp, a bit folded from their training, but Sylvain noticed that he didn’t open it up as he blatantly said he did. “Tell the mailman to deliver mail to you instead of me,” he said through gritted teeth, tossing the white slip to him. Sylvain managed to catch it, albeit clumsily and nearly dropping it. 

“The only reason I can tell it’s a marriage proposal is because I recognize that name. House Brickenden? The margrave wants to marry off his oldest daughter to a noble with a Crest, and my father met with him not too long ago. I recognize his signature.” 

The older male looked at the letter, his usual smile falling from his face as he read the address. Without bothering to open it, he just nodded at Felix and withdrew the paper, hiding it in his jacket. “Thanks, buddy. Anyway, I’m gonna go get some dinner from the hall. I don’t suppose you wanna join me?”

Felix scoffed again, and shook his head. “No, I’ll just find someone else to spar with. Someone more competent than you, that’s for sure. And not to mention, dinnertime was an hour ago.”

“So cruel to me, as always,” Sylvain sighs out, shaking his head with a grin on his face. “But that’s okay, buddy. See you later!”

The boy would then leave the training grounds, but he wasn’t planning on going to the dining hall. He wasn’t hungry that day, and he wasn’t sure if he’d like what they had been serving, as Sylvain was not a fan of Albanian berries, much less the leftovers of one. Instead, he looked towards the pond, and saw that the area was rather vacant. In fact, even the fisherman was not there, leaving the area unattended, while everyone else was presumably getting ready to retire for the night. The sun was setting over the horizon, with the sky spotted with pink, orange, and yellow as the day came to an end. He decided to walk over to the bridge, and plop right on it, long legs dangling over the edge of the wooden structure. One of the monastery cats came up behind Sylvain, colored orange and white with a black dot right on its pink nose. It rubbed its face against his arm, mewling as he surprised Sylvain. 

“What the— oh, hey there, Rusty!” He exclaimed, rewarding the cat with chin scratches. The cat stuck its rear in the air, purring as its tail swished side to side. There were plenty of felines around the monastery—many that Sylvain had caught Felix petting in secret—but this one was his favorite, and was affectionately named Rusty because of his orange coat and rustic-orange eyes. Hazel eyes brightened up, continuing to pet the affectionate feline that rubbed up against him. 

“Huh, is that you, Ferdie?” Sylvain suddenly jumped up slightly, startling Rusty. 

“Oh, wait no, it isn’t Ferdie. It’s Sylvain,” the voice said, and Sylvain wasn’t sure whether or not that meant she was relieved or disappointed. But judging by her rather affectionate way of nicknaming people, he was able to discern that it was Dorothea behind him. Not that her lovely voice gave him any indication at all.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Dorothea,” Sylvain grinning, having looked behind him to see her face. Even in the dimmed lighting, she managed to look so stunning. Was that the flirt in him being shallow or was he just being genuine? 

“Why are you out here so late, Sylvain? Dinnertime is over, everyone is just getting ready for bed now. And I usually don’t catch you here at this hour, either.”

“Aww, no affectionate nickname for me, Dorothea?” The ginger joked, with Rusty having climbed onto his lap and plopping himself right on Sylvain and making himself comfortable. “I’m hurt, but it’s alright. I’ll forgive you if you come to breakfast with me tomorrow.” Of course, it didn’t matter what situation he was in, he was going to flirt, flirt, flirt. 

Luckily, Dorothea laughed at his poor attempt. Even if she was just laughing at him, it was still a victory in his book. “As compelling and tempting as your offer is, Sylvain, I’m going to have to pass. A lady doesn’t let just anyone take her to breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner.” 

“You’re stone-cold and wound me. But I love it, lucky for you,” Sylvain purred out. “Won’t you toss me a bone and join me tonight then, Dorothea?” That one got a reaction out of the songstress, as well. Another victor in the nobleman’s metaphorical book. 

“Since you’re occupying my space tonight, how kind and generous of you to offer it back to me,” said the songstress with a soft laugh, sitting down next to Sylvain. She gave them plenty of space, to where they weren’t touching. But also not so much space that they couldn’t brush up against each other by accident. With the wood creaking, Sylvain felt the brunette take a seat next to him, Rusty giving a cautious look in her direction. 

“This is your spot, huh? What do you often do here?”

“Oh, you know, Sylvain,” she began, though her tone made it seem as if what was going to come next was not to be taken seriously. “I sit here and dream, hope for, WISH for even, for some handsome man to beat me to it, I fall in love with him, and then we marry and he takes care of me for the rest of my life. Truly, I cannot think of a better pastime.”

That made Sylvain laugh heartedly, startling Rusty again who jumped out of his lap. “Looks like tonight your wish is coming true then, huh?”

Dorothea was the one to laugh this time, chuckling as she raised her hand to cover her mouth slightly. “Unlucky for me, it’s being granted by you, and not that handsome lad sitting on your lap.” She put her fingers together and began rubbing them, trying to attract the orange-haired feline towards her. Rusty sniffed at her fingers, ears twitching with curiosity as he got used to the songstress’ scent. It wasn’t before long that Rusty was purring and crawling off of Sylvain’s lap into Dorothea’s, rubbing the side of his face on her hands. 

“I’m wounded, Dorothea. First you step on my pride, and then take away Rusty from me? You’re so cruel,” he teased, mocking heartache with the fist over his chest. 

“Rusty, huh? That’s a cute name for this cat. You didn’t strike me as the type who liked cats, Sylvain,” Dorothea hums out, giving a look in his direction. 

“I don’t have anything against cats, though Felix secretly loves them more than me. However, Rusty here has always come up to me whenever I was around this area. Figured I’d give the sweet kitty a name.~” The ginger seemed quite pleased, giving a soft grin at Rusty in Dorothea’s lap. Green eyes looked at his expression, and even she could not deny how pleasing the Gautier’s features were. He was handsome, almost devilishly so, it was hardly a wonder why girls continued to fall for such a scandalous, coquettish man even in spite of his reputation and general word of mouth. 

Sylvain noticed her staring at him, and not the cat, giving a sly grin. “What are you thinking about there, Dorothea? Have you finally fallen for my handsome charm?”

“Fallen? Not at all. I’m simply wondering how anyone could fall for a horrible man such as yourself. Time and time again, you woo these poor, unsuspecting women, and then when the time comes and they’ve bored you, you dump them and then flirt with your next unsuspecting victim. Truly, Sylvain,” she sighed out, looking back over across the pond, her words stopping abruptly. 

“You’re the worst.”

Though her words are cruel in nature, she says them in a soft tone that makes Sylvain chuckle.

“And yet, the ladies can’t keep their hands off of me,” is all he has to truly say, throwing his hands behind his head as he looked at the sky above.

Rusty meows, breaking the silence, and Dorothea laughs. 


	2. II. Cool Cat In Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She’s the only girl who hasn’t fallen down on her knees for him, but it only makes him more determined to win her over.

After their encounter from the night they shared together, it compelled Sylvain to do anything to try and get Dorothea to acknowledge him romantically, even if it was something as harmless and simple as inviting her to tea. But what he’d soon find out was that Dorothea was not easily won, and was more stone cold than he initially thought. 

Not like that bothered him, of course. If anything, Sylvain enjoyed the challenge. Dorothea was a beauty, with the same attributes of a rose— beautiful, with thorns. 

It began with Sylvain approaching Dorothea two days after their interaction, asking her to join him for the special that was being served that day in the dining hall. 

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” she began, emerald eyes widening in what he thought was in an apologetic manner, “but I’d really rather be doing something else with my time that isn’t eating with you. Good day, Sylvain.”

The second time she rejected him, she was a twinge more bitter and cold than the last time. Whereas last time was said with a certain smirk and playfulness, this tone was irritated and snappy. 

“If you don’t mind, Sylvain, I really  have better things to be doing. But I’m sure you’ll find no issue seeking out a gullible woman to go out with you, so quit wasting my time, already.”

The third time, she actually approached him instead. About a week later after she had snapped at him, the diva seemingly chose to forget that she had even done so. With the way she walked towards him, with confidence and sass, was enough to make Sylvain almost forget it, too. He’d never turn her down or reject any kind of conversation with Dorothea, he was a shameless flirt, but at least kept some of his gentlemanly manners to him. 

“This is certainly new, Dorothea. Usually I’m the one approaching you, and you’re about ready to tear me another one,” he joked, throwing his hands behind his head. “So what brings you to me this time, lovely rose?”

She chose to ignore the cheesy, flower compliment as if he did not just say such a corny thing to her. “About that, Sylvain. I was in an awful mood, and you just happened to catch me at the wrong time. And well, the point is is that it was unwarranted and I’d like you to join me for dinner to make up for it.”

The ginger-haired noble blinked his pretty, flirty hazel eyes a couple of times, perhaps having misheard her. But it dawned on him that he did not mishear her, in fact, she was asking him out. Approaching him first was already out of character for Dorothea, especially to someone like him, but asking him to dinner was something he would have never expected from her. It made him... giddy, almost? Excited? He could feel like heart pounding in his throat, but he swallowed thickly and smiled, trying to play it cool as if he wasn’t internally dying of glee. 

“Apologizing and asking me to dinner, Dorothea? Well, of course I’d never say no to you,” he accepted, crossing his arms in an attempt to appear calm and collected, though he probably looked pompous and awkward at best. “Could it be that you’re falling for me, already?” That was mostly a joke, in his head anyway... mostly. He wouldn’t mind if she had, though.

Almost as if snapping back into her normal persona, Dorothea looked at him with disgust, flicking some of her brunette waves behind her shoulder and turning away from him. “Ugh, I feel as I may lose my lunch. Perhaps asking you out to dinner wasn’t a good idea after all,” said the songstress with a characteristically accurate vindictiveness. 

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, Dorothea. I was just teasing. I’m more than honored to join you for dinner,” he said with a dramatic bow to her direction. He heard a scoff and a laugh from her, admittedly which stung a bit. 

“Good, then it is settled. Meet me later tonight for dinner, and don’t make me regret this by being tardy. I’ll hardly accept that.”

”I’d never dream of being late for our date,” Sylvain responded with a grin on his smug face.   
  


Rather than respond to his flirting with some sarcastic response, she decided to throw the noble completely off-guard with her next question. 

“Are you ashamed of being seen with me, Sylvain?”

Completely unwarranted, completely out of the left field. Dorothea spurred a loaded question onto him, but he didn’t hesitate to answer and give his, what he called honest thoughts.

”Why would I be ashamed of being seen with you? Just because you’re a commoner? I don’t really care about that stuff, Dorothea. You don’t have to be a noble for me to treat you like anyone else,” he responded coolly, his hands thrown back behind his head as he answered this. He noticed Dorothea’s emerald eyes sizing him up almost, looking up and down at his figure.   
  


“Humph, color me surprised, Sylvain. Here I would have thought that there’d be an issue, but I’m glad to learn that you truly don’t care,” she responded in a tone he could only describe as neutral. She didn’t sound particularly happy, but she certainly didn’t seem displeased, either. Simply... neutral. Passive. Content was pushing it. 

“What about you then, Dorothea? I’m not one for rumors much myself, but rumor has it that you’re flirting around with various men in hopes for a suitor. Do you only want to go out with me because I’m a noble myself?” His question out of context seemed unwarranted, but it was a fair thing to ask after being put on the spot like that. 

Dorothea laughed, luckily enough, seemingly taking no offense to the question. “Oh, please Sylvain. I hardly care about your nobility status, you could be an orphan or a poor commoner, but my heart cares not. It is character that I’m attracted to, regardless of their financial and social statuses.

... Of course, it is better that you’re rich and noble. Much like how even though I’m sure you’d love me if I was a hoarse-voiced old hag, you appreciate that I’m not, correct? There’s no shame in still having some shallow tendencies.”

The Gautier couldn’t help but nervously chuckle and look down at the ground. Of course, it was better that he was a nobleman with a Crest and wealth, and why wouldn’t it be? He could easily provide her the life that she so desperately wanted...

”Well, Sylvain, I look forward to our dinner date tonight. I should go and get ready. Again, I won’t be happy if you keep a lady waiting.” Before the songstress turned around to walk away, she flashed him a wink, strutting away with her shoulders and chest high and her stature with confidence. 

  
Once he was sure she was out of earshot, he held his head and sighed, still facing the ground. “If I were an orphan or a poor commoner, huh?”


End file.
